


Scarlet Bound

by KatiePai



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Blood Drinking, Blood and Gore, Demon Blood Addiction, Demons, F/M, Love Bites, M/M, Mild Blood, One-Sided Relationship, One-Sided Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Psychopath Sherlock, Sociopathic Sherlock, Vampire Bites, Vampire Sherlock, Victorian Sherlock Holmes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2018-09-23 02:27:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9636764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatiePai/pseuds/KatiePai
Summary: John Watson has been working for quite a while for Scotland Yard's "Department for Supernatural Occurences" (the DSO) but a case quite as mysterious as this one is a first: Corpses are scattered throughout London and even if it looks like a serial killer's work, there is no connection between the victims.John has to be careful to not get into the murderer's hands and also to make sure that his secret won't be unraveled...





	1. Hunting in the Shadows

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Scharlachroter Bund](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/263156) by me. 



> **Please keep in mind that English is not my first language! I try my best so sound as good as possible but I cannot account for any mistakes. You are welcome to correct me!**

"Is there a legitimate reason why I have to do the night shifts now?", I yawned while walking through Scotland Yard's entrance together with Lestrade. I recieved a telegram about one hour ago and this of course woke me from my slumber.

"Anderson insisted on switching", reaffirmed Lestrade, "Everything is at sixes and sevens right now and we need everyone, John."

"Yes, of course", I mumbled, "The Betty Walter case."

Lestrade gave a nod of confirmation. "We still don't know who's behind this and it drives me crazy."

"Lestrade, what's the real reason I'm here?", I then asked and my colleague stopped at once.

Gotcha!

Lestrade took a deep breath before answering. "There was another murder. We found a dead body near Jefferson Street; Jason Brending his name. We thought it was the same murderer who killed Betty Walter but..."

"But this one is different", I completed the sentence.

"Exactly. As I said, we need everyone right now."

"Why didn't we go straight to the crime scene then?", I asked openly confused, "Wouldn't it be better if we wouldn't waste any time and investigate?"

"There already are DSOs on the spot and I need you here."

"Why is that? I thought Betty Walter's case was clear and the already did the autopsy at the Barts."

"It's not about Betty Walter", Lestrade said and opened the door to his office. "John, we need to talk."

Alarmed, I stopped. I closed the door behind me as we entered. Lestrade leaned against his desk while I kept my place at the door.

"John, you've been working at our department for quite a while now. And to be honest, I don't know how to put it into words."

I inhaled sharply and played the conversation in my head.

_You always worked hard_

"You always worked hard, John."

_And I appreciate how dedicated and talented you are_

"And I apperciate how dedicated and talented you are", Lestrade contunied.

_But I think it's time to dismiss you._

"But I think it's time to give you a promotion."

Both starteled and stunned I stared at Lestrade.

"Excuse me?", I stuttered.

"You heard me. I want to give you a promotion. It's always hurting me when I see you have to do the dirty work for us. And I trust you enough to know that you'll be knowing what you're doing."

"Lestrade", I whispered, "You don't mean-?"

"I do, John", the Inspector said and reached into one of the drawers in his table. Out he took something wrapped into brown paper.

With slightly shaking hands I accepted the present.

"I...I don't know what to say", I said and didn't dare to unwrap the item inside.

"You don't need to say anyting. Just tell me if you want it or not."

"Yes", I whispered amazed and confirmed another time, "Yes. Yes of course I do accept!"

Then, I finally unwrapped the thing inside and once I held it in my own hands I was even more staggered.  
In my hands was a beautiful Lancaster, definitly custom-made. The butt was decorated with various carvings and worked smoothly. I weighed it in my hand. It was really comfortable to hold it.

"You like it?", Lestrade asked with a little smirk on his face and I couldn't contain my happiness.

"Lestrade, it's fantastic!", I exclaimed facinated as I examined the silver bullets which also were worked with carvings.

"Want to give it a try?"

"What? Right now?", I asked. I was getting more confused with every minute passing.

"Care for a little hunt?"

Although it still was night, it was pleasantly warm outside with a mild wind blowing. But I still tugged my coat tighter.

"It's not your first time", Lestarde said to calm me down, "Yeah, well your first hunt with your own weapon, but not your first hunt. You know what I mean."

I could only nod. 

You'll take Marylebourne and I St. Regent's Park. We'll meet again in one hour." 

"One hour. Alright", I said and went on my way. 

The word _hunt_ sounds more thrilling than it acutally is. You just basicly partol a certain area and make sure that nothing bad happens. London may be big but it's highly unlikely that something will happen in your distict. A real "hunt" only occurs if you notice something odd. I put my pistol into my waistband because I hadn't has a holster yet and I checked if it was still there. As I went around the corner, I saw two watchmen crossing my way. One of the two had a little lantern to guide their path. I was surprised to see them, watchmen were getting rare. 

"Good Evening", I greeted them with a friendly nod. 

"Good Evening, Mister Watson", the younger one with the lantern said back. 

"Everyting alright?", I asked. 

"Everything's alright, yes", he affirmed. 

We said our goodbyes and kept walking our ways. I myself didn't have a lantern, even if it would've been nice to have one for seeing into the dark alleyways. On the other hand, it would highly obstruct me when in a possble chase, that's why I was pretty content with how things were now. Also, my eyes have already adjusted to working in the darkness. Out of sheer curiosity I glanced into one of the alleyways I was passing and saw two figures. At first, I wasn't planning on doing something, they should be allowed to do what they'd like and the watchmen didn't do anything either, but then I herad a woman's wimper. 

"Please...don't...", she begged. 

But the tall figure didn't budge an inch. 

"Please...let me go...", her voice went up and this seemed quite dodgy to me. 

I went up closer to them and put my hand onto my pistol. "Hey!", I shouted, "Let go of the woman immediately!" 

The person seemed to turn my way, but I couldn't see their face in the shadows. Then with a jerk faster than I could notice the person fled. I instantly ran after them and tried to keep my hat on my head. The thug was very fast and I had problems keeping up with them. I drew my weapon. I wouldn't be able to hit anything while running but there still was a chance that the criminal would be startled by the sound and stop. We entered a wider street and I pulled the trigger. The recoil made me take a few steps back but I saw that I hit them. The person stopped and put his hand on his upper arm. But they kept runnign away so that I lost sight. After I made sure that the thug was totally gone, I decided to go back to the attacked woman hurrily. I knelt in front of her. 

"Hello? Are you consious?", I stared talking to her softly. I didn't want to startle her afterall. 

The woman didn't answer but let out a soft moan. At first, I thought that she might me a prostitute but after looking at her clothing, I knew that they must've been quite expensive. 

"I am going to bring ou to the police, alright?", I said knowing that she wouldn't answer me. 

I carefully ried to get her on her feet but she was so weak that I decided to carry her to Scotland Yard. 


	2. Kiss of Death

Closing in to Scotland Yard's entrance, I saw Lestrade already standing there, looking a bit annoyed. He surely wanted to complain that I was late and that he was worried that something might have happend to me, but his epression changed once he saw me carrying the woman and he helped me getting her into the buliding. 

"John, what happened?", he asked with widened eyes. 

"I...I don't know yet", I said out of breath. I still needed time to properly process what happened. 

We took the woman to the infirmary which we luckily had for a month now. As I layed the woman down onto the sickbed, Lestrade already wanted to leave. 

"I'm...I'm going to get a doctor...", he said and ran his hand through his hair. 

"Lestrade. Wait." 

I carefully tugged at her collar which was decorated with lace and frills, as I noticed that it was slightly covered in blood. 

"Vampire", I mumblred to myself once I saw the bite mark on her delicate neck. 

"Excuse me?", Lestrade exclaimed and positioned himself next to me, "John, would you care to explain what exactly happened?" 

I sighed and we took two of the chairs in the room to sit on. Then, I started explaining. Lestrade, who has listened attentively, scratched his chin. 

"Your first real nightshift and already a vampire hunt. John, I'm not sure if this is bloody luck or awful misfortune." 

I sighed again. "I don't either." 

"Were you able to notice anything of importance?", Lestarde asked as he got up from his chair. 

I shook my head. "No, sorry. It was too dark." 

"Well, I'm going to call off a manhunt, maybe some of the watchmen will catch the guy", Lestrade said before finally leaving the room. 

After the door closed, I took at deep breath. All the adrenaline in my blood started getting out of my system, I started noticing just how exausted I really was. Deep in thought, I looked at the woman, who seemed to have fallen asleep. She was breathing quietly but steadily. Was I lucky and prevented another murder? I shook my head to get the thought out of my head. No this was different from Betty Walter's case. Those cases weren't connected. After that, I stared to patch up the lady laying on the bed to treat the bite. It honestly looked worse than it actually was and to finish of, I dripped a little bit of tincture on the wound and finished my work with a plaster. As I was putting everything back to it's original place, I heard the woman quitely moaning and then the sound of rustling fabric. I turned around as saw her staring at me in shock. As she inhaled her breath to scream, I tried to interrupt her.

"Please, don't scream!", I plead and made a careful step towards her. The poor woman was obviously scared and was shaking strongly. "Do you know where you are?" 

The woman shook her head. 

"You are at the infirmary at Scotland Yard", I explained, "You're safe. No worries." 

The woman moved her hand to her neck to check on the bite and didn't avert her gaze from me for a second and touched the plaster slightly with her fingertips. 

"What...", she croaked and then cleared her throat, "What happened?" 

I sat down on the chair opposite to her. "Do you remember anyting specific?" 

The woman thought a while to recollect her memories. "I... I was at a festivity", she started telling, "I had fun, but it was getting late really quick. Then, this man approached me", she seemed to shudder with horror, "He offered me to escort me home and I thought this was a really polite gesture so I accepted. And on the way home, he pulled me into this alleyway and..." 

The woman stared to sob and I placed my hand onto her knee to calm her down. "You don't need to tell me more, I know the rest. Do you remember what the man looked like?" 

The woman wiped her face. "He was tall and had dark hair. He wore a coat but I don't remember if it was black or blue. And he had those stunning light eyes." 

"Would you recohnize him if you saw him again?" 

The woman gave me a nod. "Yes, of course." 

This moment the door opened and Lestrade came in. 

"John, I just...", he stopped once he saw the woman and lifted his hat, "Madam. Are you alright?" 

"Yes, thank you. I just explanied your collegue what the culprit looked like." 

"Fantastic. The watchmen have captured some men. Would you care to take a look at them?" 

The woman hesitated for a minute but then agreed to follow him. 

Together with Lestrade, we sat in his office. 

"It's unbelieveable that this bloody vampire escaped!", the Inspector grumbled. 

"We'll surely catch him. There aren't many vampires in London", I contributed but I myself was disappointed of the failed investigations. "Did the watchmen find anything else that might be of use?" 

"Hm, yes. They found a hat." 

"A hat!", I exclaimed surprised, "What about an Locating-spell?" 

"I don't think so, John", Lestrade looked at me scepticly, "That's Anderson's field of knowledge and this isn't his case. 

After a while of thinking, I started talking again. "Lestrade, I thought about Betty Walter." 

"Oh? The fine gentleman had a thought? I'm all ears." 

"The Case of Jason..." 

"Brending." 

"Yes. The Case of Jason Brending. What if it _is_ connected to Betty Walter's?" 

"John, I already explained to you that..." 

"But what if we overlooked something?" 

"John!", Lestrade raised his voice but then lowered it again, "Please. I can understand that you really care for this case, but the dead can wait for a while. Let's focus on tonights case, alright?" 

Frustrated, I leaned back in my chair. 

"So", Lestrade started, "Lara Owen is being escorted back home this moment by some of our policemen", he said and interlaced his fingers ontop of his table, "Our duty is to find the culprit right now. Any ideas?" 

"She said she's been approached by him on a festivity. We may start investigating there." 

"Nah, we'll be too suspicious to be guests", he said but for the next twenty minutes, nobody had another idea. 

"Say, John. What do you do if you're not at work? I mean, I know for about three years and still know close to nothing about you." 

I felt my hands getting moist. "Well, I, erm...", I stuttered, "once I get home, I'll eat something and go to bed shortly after that. I don't have a lot of freetime between shifts." 

Lestrade widned his eyes. "John, you can always take a few days off, you know? I mean, it's a bit difficult at the moment, but if you really need some free time..:" 

"No that's not it!", I said, "I'm just not an interesting person. There's not much to tell about myself!" 

"Don't say that!", Lestrade cried out in surprise, "If you don't want to tell, that's your business!" 

"There just isn't anything to tell!", I said a bit too quickly and to harsh. We stared at the floor for a few moments. 

"And else? A fine young man like you sure is engaged", Lestrade then said quietly. 

I sighed. "No, I'm not and you know that Lestrade. I'm still single." I felt how thick the air in this room was getting, so I stood up from my seat. "My shift ends in twenty minutes. If you ecuse me, I'd like to leave now.

Sitting in the cab, I placed my hands onto my lap and thought about Lara Owen. A hidden inverstigation wasn't a bad idea after all and I decided to chance my destination. But once I found myself in Lara Owens living room, I finally realised how plain stupid this idea was. 

"I cannot quite grasp your idea, Mister John Watson", she said, looking at me in a confused manner, "The culprit surely won't attack the same person twice, will he?" 

"Not you probably, but maybe someone else. I still ask you to be careful while he is on the loose." 

"So you want to be my company at the next festive?", Lara asked. 

"No, of course not", I said soothingly, "But I would like to ask you to inform me about upcoming events, so I can investigate for myself." 

"Yes", Lara sighed, "I think I can do that." 


	3. Dead man's Body

The next night, Lestrade gave me a setback. 

"What do you mean, you found Lara Owen's attacker?", I snarled at Lestrade and leaned against his desk. "Did you question him? Did Lara identify him already?" 

Lestrade tugged his collar into place. "John, I think you should take a look at it yourself." 

I followed Lestrade outside and we walked a while through the downtown until I could see ploicemen from afar. I slowed my walking pace in shock. 

"Lestrade, is this...?", I asked as I saw the person laying on the ground. 

"Lara Owen confirmed that it's him." 

Standing around the corpse were some poilicemen and I carefully made my way through to take a look at the victim slash culprit. On the ground layed a tall young man. His light grey eyes were fixed on the heavens and opend wide as in shock. His mouth opend as he wanted to scream. 

"Fantastic", I mumbled as I rolled up my sleeves, "Truly fantastic." I took out a little pencil case out of my coat's pocket and took out a little wooden prick. I used it to take a look into the man's mouth and I saw two sharp fangs. My gaze wandered down and I saw his sliced throat. 

"The cause of death seems to be pretty obvious", I said to myself. 

"It is", said Lestrade and kneeled beside me, ""But take a look at this." 

He lifted the dead man's arm and rolled up the right sleeve. A strange symbol was carved into his underarm. From another pocket I took a pen and a notebook and copied the symbol. 

"I'll see what I can find about this", I said and blowed the ink dry. "We stumble from one case into another." 

"Let's hope it won't stay like this", Lestrade grumbled. 

"Well, it seems that Lara Owen's case is closed then?" I tried to sound nonchalant about this but in reality I wanted to pull my hair out because I now got those stupid event dates for exactly this cause. 

Lestrade gave me a crooked smile. "Seems like it. But someone's gotta tell the lady that she needs to be careful and that she should stay away from any public events for the next few weeks. 

I laghed shyly. "Yes. Certainly." 

After talking with some of the other policemen, I went to the nearest library to do some research, but to my misfortune I found nothing that seemed to fit the symbol we found. I put a book back into it's shelf and took a look onto my pocket watch. My shift wasn't officially over yet but I didn't want to waste any time in this library, so I snuck out. After talking to Lestrade last night, I finaly realised how isolated I lived. So I thought it would be nice for me to meet some new people. The small festivity I was planning to attend wasn't far from my flat, I noticed and because one didn't need an invitation, there was quite a crowd. I stood at the edge of the dance floor, leaning against the wall behind me and let my gaze roam the people around me. Maybe Lestrade was right. Maybe it _was_ time for me to search for an partnership. But I wasn't able to finish my chain of thought because someone adressed me from the side. I looked at them in surprise. 

"Pardon me", he said, "I just noticed you. Are you a companion?" 

The man who approached me looked a lot like the dead man we found tonight. He had the same tall slender figure, the same pale, translucent skin and the same light eyes. The differences were his dark brown locks which fell lightly onto his neck and his dark blue coat. But I noticed that afterwards since I wasn't able to put anything into words at exact this moment. 

"Erm...I...no. I'm not", I stuttered in an attempt to find a reasonable excuse. 

"Ah!", the man cried out in laughter, "You must be an aquaintance of the host then!" 

"Y-yes...", I lied. 

"How marvellous! I am searching for someone to chin-wag. This festivity is getting awfully dull!" 

"I must disappoint you then", I said trying to escape, "I must be going it's late already." 

"Oh, what a shame!", the man exclaimed disappointed, "Maybe we'll see again? I'm going to give a little ball soon! Come if you like, it's going to be at Baker Street!" 

"Ah, yes...surely..." 

"The name's Sherlock Holmes!" 

"John...John Watson!", I said back before I left. 


	4. Hush Stranger

I would be lying if I said that I didn't think about that Sherlock Holmes after we met. This curious fella triggered a strange feeling inside me that I later identified as pure fear. Nervously I bobbed a pen up and down between my fingers while starring at the piece of paper in front of me. 

"You're pretty troubled, aren't you?", Lestrade declared and I twitched, "Did something happen last night?" 

I bit my lower lip. "Have you heard about someone called Sherlock Holmes?" 

Lestrade looked at me in shock. "Why?" 

"Heard the name on the streets", I lied without looking at him. 

"That's...that's not possible, John", Lestrade said both startled and amused. 

"Why? Who's that?", I asked and put the pencil down. 

Lestrade has gotten anxious. "There was a strange case about fifty years ago", he said. "Of course I wasn't there to witness it but I've heard and read about it. It must be one of Scotland Yard's most curious cases!" 

_Get to the point._

"A man by the name of Sherlock Holmes was found murded. There clearly was no doubt that he was dead his throat sliced and mauled. Everything was covered in blood. It was a truly horrible sight to behold. he didn't seem to have any relatives as noone showed up to his funeral and they never found the murderer. But the disturbing thing about this was that two weeks after his death he was seen again in the city. I mean, the photographies weren't definite but it has been confirmed by different people and it's really scary just talking about it. 

"But why is it impossible for me to her his name in the streets?", I then asked scepticly, "Somebody could've talked about the case, couldn't they?" 

Lestrade gave me an serious look. "John, this case was about fiftly years ago. Why would anyone talk about it? Unless... Unless you're not telling me the truth." 

"No I'm not lying! I swear!", I lied and hold my hands in front of me. "Maybe I just got the name wrong?" 

Lestrade snorted. "How would you get this wierd name wrong? That's highly unlikely!" 

There was this thick air between us and it stayed until Lestrade shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Could you find anything useful about this symbol?" 

I shook my head. "I couldn't. All clues lead to nowhere. But similar symbols suggest that it might be a kind of ancient Vampire-language. But nothing's for sure." 

"Damn it!", Lestrade grumbled and hit the table with his fist. "I cannot tell you anthing else than 'Keep looking', can I?" 

"I need to stretch my legs", I said and put the paper and pen back into my pocket and checked if my weapon was still safe inside its holster.

It was a bit cool outside but not too cold. Without looking for anything, I roamed the streets. Sometimes it can be really nice to just have wind blowing around your ears. But sadly, this calmness wouldn't stay for long, then soon I reached the place where I found Lara Owen and to my surprise I was greeted with a similar scenery. I drew my Lancaster and pointed it onto the man in front of me. 

"Hands up!", I shouted. 

The man let go of his victim while laughing and lifted his hands. The woman sank to the ground without any streanth left to stand. 

"So we meet again, John Watson", a famillar voice said to me. 

"Sherlock Holmes?!", I eclaimed in surprise. 

The man turned around and, indeed, it was him. A mischievious smile was on his face, blood stuck to his lips. 

"You're a revenant", I declared and tried to keep a safe distance. 

"Why yes. A clever one, are we?", Sherlock scoffed at me, "Of course I'm a revenant. I'm surprised you didn't notice earlier!" 

As Sherlock made a few steps towards me, I jumped back instinctively. 

"You're afraid. The same way when we first met", Sherlock reasoned amused, "Why is that? What makes you so afraid of me?" 

I clenched my teeth. "You're a bloody monster!", I hissed at him, "You're not human!" 

"Oh? You're not afraid of humans then?" 

I forced myself not to answer. 

"Say, John Watson. What part of me isn't human? I certainly look like a human. I speak like a human. I _think_ like a human. I feel pain like a human." 

"You're dead!", I interrupted his monologue. 

"Dead people aren't humans?", Sherlock said and raised his eyebrows. 

"Dead don't roam the streets!" 

"Oh, John Watson", Sherlock purred, "You're so easy to suss." 

"Stay back!", I tried to sound brave and icgone the fact that I was shaking. 

"You're afraid of me because you're weaker than me. Like meek prey." 

"I said...!" 

"Don't be like this, John Wa-" 

A loud bang echoed through the night and startled myself. Both Sherlock and I looked at each other in surprise. I still clutched the pistol tightly in my hands while Sherlock pressed his hand onto his shoulder. My bullet apparently brushed him. 

"You little...!", Sherlock hissed and stood that quickly in front of me that I hadn't had a chance to evade. He grabbed me by the neck, lifted me up my feet and pushed me against the wall behind me. 

"I shoudl kill you right here and right now, but that would be no fun, would it?", he whispered in my ear, sending chills down my spine. 

"I'm not the one you're looking for", he hissed as we heared boots running down the street. 

I turned my head and that moment Sherlock was gone. I fell onto my knees and gasped for air. The spot Sherlock touched me was hurting badly. 

"John!", I heard Lestrade shout and then felt strong arms bringing me on my feet, "Are you alright?" 

I coughed a few times until I could breathe properly again. "Yeah, I think so." 

"Some watchmen heard shots. What happened?" 

I gulped to speak more clearly. "I...it was self defense." 

"Who attacked you?", I was surprised how worried Lestrade was about me. 

"Sher...Sherlock Holmes." 

Lestrade let go of me immediatly. "John..." 

I looked at Lestrade for a moment and then lowered my eyes to the ground. 


	5. In the Dark

Although I insisted that I was alright, Lestrade still demanded that I visited an hospital. Together, we sat in a cab; Lestrade opposite to me. With a shaking hand, I tried to fix my shirt collar. I secretly hoped that I wouldn't meet Sherlock Holmes again in the near future but another part of me would like to put another bullet in him, preferably between his eyes. 

"John, I don't know what you're thinking", Lestrade said while looking outside the cab window, "But I think we have our first suspect." 

I forced on a smile. "Well, he did attack an innocent woman. She's alright, luckily, but what would've happened if I didn't show up?" I rubbed my upper arms to warm myself up, I was suddenly freezing. 

"I really don't need a doctor", I repeated. 

"Just for safety, John." 

I sighed. I did that a lot lately. If I was lucky, maybe I got to speak with Hooper... The cab suddely halted and I followed Lestrade into the hospital without further ado. And luckily, I got to speak with Dr. Hooper. I sat down on the treatment couch and the doctor in front of me on a chair. 

"Well _John_ Watson. What brings you here tonight?" 

I cleared my throat because I didn't know how to start. "I was on a patrol", I started and only continued once Molly nodded, "And I was unfortunately attacked by a vampire." 

Molly's eyes widened. "A vampire!" 

"Nothing's happened", I assured, "But Mister Inspector insisted I visited a doctor." 

"No bite wound?", Dr. Hooper asked. 

"Nope. No bite." 

She nodded and then stood up. "May I take a look at your neck?" 

I nodded back and undid a few buttons on my shirt. She then carefully touched the red marks with her fingers. 

"Does it hurt badly?", she asked with an concerned look after I flinched. 

"Yes." 

"Looks like geezer squeezed you quite a bit. Nothing too bad but it hurts obviously. It'll be surely gone in a few days", she explained and then took a seat again. "Everything else alright?" 

"Yeah, sure", I said but I wasn't even sure myself if this was true, "A few nervewrecking cases but everything else's in order." 

Molly looked at me for a while but I was unable to read her facial expression. 

"Be careful, okay?", she said before finally letting me go. 

I then meet an impatiently waiting Lestrade. "Everything's alright", I said with an taunting look. "We didn't need to come here." 

"You'll be getting home safely?", he asked concerned. 

"Yes. Of course", I said with a faked smile. 

"See you", Lestrade said goodbye to me and left the building. I waited a few minutes to make sure that he really was gone because I didn't plan on walking straight home. 

I knocked on the church door in front of me. I wasn't religious but even I needed to talk sometimes. The door was opend by a young man shortly after I knocked. 

"Revenant Wakefield!", I cried out relieved, "Thank God, you're still here as late as it is!" 

"John Watson? Come in, it's cold outside!", revenant Blair Wakefield invited me into the chruch. And together we took our seats in the first row. 

"Your last visit was quite a while ago", Wakefield said, "Something must have happened, am I right?" 

I laughed shyly. "Why yes." 

"And you want to talk with someone." 

"Right." 

Wakefield nooded. "Take your time." 

"You know the department I work at", I tried to tell the story from the beginning. 

"The Department for Supernatural Occurences." 

"Correct. So, I was on one of my patrols", I made a short pause, "And I, well, I ran into a vampire. Everything went well, mostly." 

Wakefield kept quiet. 

"I don't know", I said to prevent silence between us, "I am afraid but I don't know what is making me feel this way." 

"John", the revenant said with an soft voice, "You'll encounted a lot of things in your job that other people would find disturbing. That you're afraid is a completly normal reaction to what is happening to you. You're strong, but even you have limits and they seem to be crossed. You need to decide for yourself what is best for you now." 

I stared at my hands, which were resting on top of my lap. 

"Why do you keep this job?", the revenant asked, "Think of a reason why you work at Scotland Yard." 

"I...I want to help people. I always wanted but I just didn't know how and I got this job by accident. I was bothered by a ghost and the DSO helped me. I was so amazed by their work that I wanted to join them. I didn't like the hunting like most others." 

"But how do you want to help people if you cannot even help yourself?" 

Frustrated, I buried my head into my hands. "I don't know!" 

"Try a little bit of resting", Wakefield suggested, "You'll know what you need after that for sure." 

"I will", I whispered and felt something cold when revenant Wakefield placed his hand ontop of mine. 

"Take this", he said and I opened my hand. He placed a silver necklace with an crucifix charm into my palm. 

"A little present", he said with a soft smile, "To keep you safe." 

As I left the chruch, I put the necklace around my neck, hiding the charm underneath my shirt. And I asked myself on the way home, why I didn't own such a thing before. 

Back at home, I threw my coat onto an armchair and sat down exausted on a chair. I looked into the mirror which was hanging opposite to me and carefully rubbed my neck. I writhed with disgust and felt a kind of nausea rise up inside my stomach. 

Sherlock Holmes sickened me. Charming on the outside, a monster on the inside. I sometimes envied those at the DSO who could just shoot a monster, knowing that I could never do that; shoot and hit. 

_Why do these beasts look like humans anyway?_

I poured myself a glass of water. As I took a few sips, I heard a knocking on my door. I choked on my drink and went to the door coughing. Once I passed the window, I saw something there from the corners of my eyes. And I saw a bat sitting there after I turned my head. I grabbed a broom near me and opened the window. 

"Shoo!", I shouted at hit the bat with the broomstick and it disappeared with a cry into the night. 

I was startled by another knock and haistly rushed down the stairs. 

"Good evening", I surprisedly greeted a woman standing in front of me with big eyes. She pressed a hand onto her neck. 

She said something I didn't understand and then seemingly became unconcious. I managed to caught her on time and brang her to my flat without second thought and put her on the sofa. She seemed to breathe shallowly. 

Slowly, I tried to move her hand from her neck and noticed all the blood running onto her clothes. I wasn't surprised to find a vampire bite on her neck. 

"That's already the third victim in three nights", I said horrified and thought of my options. 

I decided to give her first-aid first and noticed that her body temperature was decreasing rapidly. I grabbed the telephone and called Scotland Yard. I nervously waited for a connection. 

"Detective Inspector Lestrade speaking", I herad his voice. 

"Lestrade!", I cried, "I need some guys over here at my flat!" 

"Oh God, John. What happened?" 

"A woman knocked at my door and fell unconcious!" 

"Isn't that a case for a doctor?", Lestrade asked scepticly. 

"I think she's turning into a vampire", I said, "Her body temperature is getting lower every second and she has bite wounds on her neck!" 

"We're on our way", Lestrade said without an goodbye and hung up. 

I jumped when I heard the woman inhaling air sharply and turned around. She was breathing in short quick breaths and had her fingers clithed onto the collar of her dress. I touched the Lancaster and put it into my waistband to have it handy. Closing in, the woman turned her head and asked something that I didn't understand again. 

"Do you speak English?", I asked her helplessly; I couldn't help her like this. 

"An..lish?", she croaked. 

"Yes, can you understand me?", I asked. 

The woman shook her head and gasped for air. "No... no... Anglishe!" 

"You need to stay calm", I adviced her, "You need to breathe carefully. Do you understand? Respriation!" 

The woman looked at me with big and reddned eyes, tears running down her face. "Respira...tion?" 

"Yes!", I cried out surprised, "Breathe deeply. Deeply like profoundly!" 

While thinking I was distracted and didn't notice her moving. She quickly grabbed my sleeve and pushed me onto the ground. I tried to free my arm to grab my pstol but this didn't work so I tried to think of something else. When she was close enough I hit her head wth my forehead and got away while she was rubbing her head. I drew my weapon and aimed at her but it was impossible to shoot because my hand was shaing too much from all the adrenaline. The woman shrieked and the exact same moment I heared the door banging downstairs followed by tramping boots on wood. Quicker that I could react the woman thre herself onto me, I heared a bang and was pulled onto my feet. Then, I saw Lestrades shocked face. 


	6. Lady in Disguise

"A forced holiday?", I cried out in surprise as Lestrade and I were standing alone in my living room. 

Lestrade had his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked at me gloomily. "John. I'm not sure if you're aware how this whole situation makes me look." 

I frowned at Lestrade and he massaged his nose bridge. 

"I gave you a promotion three days ago. And since then, you ran into danger twice. I don't want to look like I gave you the promotion because I like you." 

"But why two weeks of forced holiday?" 

"We already talked about that", said Lestrade, "and I decided that you really do need some time off." 

"Lestrade-!" 

"No!", he shouted, "I want you to keep out of my sight!" 

I looked at Lestrade shocked about his outburst of anger and once he noticed how harshly he has spoken to me, he looked to the ground and left without saying another word. 

Although I was angry at Lestrade for treating me like this, I really didn't wanted to upset him any more so, I mostly spend my days in my house. I used my newly found free time to fix some thing in my flat, so read some nice books but soon after a week I started to get bored, though well rested. I simply wasn't used to this kind of tediousness. But then, in my second week off, I got an unexpected visitor. It was quite early in the evening and while I didn't expect anyone, I hoped it was Lestrade, coming to apologise to me. But it wasn't Lestrade who was at the door. 

"Molly? What are you doing here?", I asked the impish grinning woman. 

"May I come in?", she asked an pushed her way up the stairs. 

"What's in the bag?", I asked as she put it down onto my kitchen table. 

"A little present", she said smiling and sat down on one of the chairs. "I've got news." 

"You never come without news!", I laughed and also took a seat. 

"I have been your little spy today", she grinned, "Lestrade wants to investigate at a festivity for a case." 

"A festivity?", I cried out surprised, "But that was my idea!" 

Molly shurgged. "I wanted to ask you if you'd like to come with me. Of course in a manner that Lestrade won't notice us." 

I considered. "There is no way he wouldn't notice us." 

"Not with this", Molly said and pointed to the paper bag. 

"I really think this is a bad idea", I said as I got out of the cab and pulled my skirts up to not dirty them. 

"Don't be like that!", Molly said as we then went inside. 

I tugged a little bit at my dress and followed Molly a bit through the ball room. 

"Calm yourself", she whispered, "I'm going to go away for a while." 

"Molly!", I called her but she turned around and tapped her fan on the back of her head an gave me a fierce look, so I stayed. 

Sighing, I took a seat near the dance floor and observed the people. After a while I found Lestrade wandering around and this made me keeping up my guard even more. This worsend once I saw another familliar face. As he approached me, I tapped my own fan on my right ear. 

"Good evening, Milady", Sherlock Holmes said with a smile. 

"Good evening", I said back. Hasn't he recognised me? 

"Would you like to dance with me?", he asked and offered his hand. He musn't recognise my voice, so I ran my closed fan through my hand. 

Sherlock laughed. "Please don't be like that, Milady. Come, let's amuse ourselfs." 

I wanted to protest, but as I noticed Lestrade closing in, I took Sherlocks hand and followed him to the dance floor. While we were dancing, I tried to not look at Sherlock directly. 

"Have we met before?", Sherlock asked and I flinched. 

"I doubt it", I said quitely. 

"Are you in company?" 

"Yes, I'm with a friend", I said and looked up. 

He strangely haven't recognised me yet, so I put my shyness a bit away. Then I remembered that I left my Lancaster at home. Stealthy, I took a better look a Sherlock and grinded my teeth. He was really handsome. His pale skin and light eyes looked nice together and his soft curls complimented his sharp cheekbones. We danced for a while, but then Sherlock pulled me a bit away from the crowd. I wanted to fight back, but I didn't want to call attention of the DSO, so I let him pull me into a room.

"Wait, let me go", I said and started to panic once Sherlock gripped my wrist tighter. 

Sherlock spun me around, so he almost held me in an embrace. 

"What is your name?", he whispered. 

"Jeanette", I answered not looking at him. 

"Jeanette", he repeated, "You're quite beautiful." 

I blushed and wished, I had my fan to cover it up. Sherlock ran his other hand carefully through my hair and then looked directly into my eyes. I felt my body growing numb and I stareted to panic even more. 

Was he using his vampire powers on me to dominate me? 

Then he caressed my cheek and cupped it in his hand. The feeling of his cold skin through his thin glove against my burning cheek made me shudder. Then his hand wandered down my neck onto my collarbone and rested there for a moment. 

I wanted to scream, wanted to say something, wanted to resist but I somehow couldn't. I was weak against his mystic powers and this made me angry. 

"Jeanette, what do you think of me?", he said softly and put a strand of hair behind my ear. 

"I hate you", I whispered so quietly, not even I was sure if I really said it. 

"I couldn't understand you my dear, please speak a little louder." 

"I don't like you", I said a little bit louder and was surprised how I changes the words to sound less angry. 

"Oh? You don't?", he said softly with a smile, "You will, my love." 

"No", I whimpered, frustrated at my own weakness. Sherlock was right. I was weaker than him and that made me afraid. 

Sherlock pulled me closer to himself, my head almost resting on his chest. I felt my heart beating even faster and cursed myself for it because this bastard might and probably will interpret it the wrong way. 

"Don't be scared, dear", he whispered into my ear and I felt his breath against my skin. Then I felt his cold lips against my neck and was startled because by now, I couldn't move at all anymore. 

I would've jumped if I could and inhaled my breath sharply, as I felt his fangs piercing my skin. I grabbed him by his shirt and clung onto the fabric tightly but as the sharp pain faded away, I loosend my grip. 

I heard that a vampire's bite will hurt only at first but I didn't know it could make one so drowsy. I tried to not close my eyes and fall asleep, who knows what could've happened to me if I did? 

Then suddelny I heard a loud voice shouting and I noticed that it was myself. I had apparently not fully regained my senses but held on to reality tight enough to cry for help. My effort were then silenced by Sherlock who covered my mouth with his hand and finally let go of me. He held me because I lost the ability to stand upright as I still couldn't feel my feet properly. 

"Why are the pretty ones always so noisy?", he asked himself and wiped the little blood off his lips and his face came closer and closer to my own. 

"You shouldn't be so loud", he whispered, "Someone might find us." And then decended his lips onto my own. 

I tried to push him away from me, but his lips were locked with mine and I hadn't had any strength left to fight. As Sherlock finally released me from the kiss, I tried to gasp for air and tried to hold onto him, to not fall to the ground. To my surprise, Sherlock supported me. 

"You damn...!", I said between two breaths. 

"Shhh...Quiet", Sherlock said and strocked my hair. 

I wanted to respond something angrily but I felt dizzy and blinked a few times to see clearly again. I felt tired and everything hurted. I saw Sherlock licking his thumb and rubbing my neck with it. I did tingle a bit and after I managed to tough the place where the bite wound would've been, I noticed that it was gone. 

"You are to my liking", Sherlock said, "I'l have fun with you later." 

Then he pulled me on my feet and I saw, that I could only barely stand and stumbled after him back to the ball room. As we left the private room, I saw Molly running towards us with widened eyes but as she saw Sherlock, she stopped. 

"Molly...!", I cried out weakly and tried to smile. 

"Well, this is probably the friend you've mentioned", Sherlock said and eyed Molly, "A doctor, I see." 

Molly took a confused look at Sherlock as he handed me to her. "I wish you a wonderful evening, ladies", he said and then disappeared into the crowd. 

"Who was _that_ gentleman?", Molly asked amused. 

I wanted to respond to Molly but suddenly felt a wave of nausea coming over me and pressed my hand onto my mouth to not vomit right on the spot. 

"Oh God, what happened to you?", Molly asked as she guided me outside. 

I considered to not tell her about it and took some deep breaths of fresh air. 

"This man", I said, "is a vampire." 

Molly gasped for air in surprise and searched for bite marks on my body. "But you've got no..." 

I shrugged. I didn't want to go into detail about what he did. 

"Are you alright otherwise?" 

"I feel like I'm about to vomit, I cannot walk straight without help and my head hurts, but yes, I'm alright", I muttered. 

Molly carefully stroked my back. "Everything's gonna be alright." 

"No it's not!", I said angrily, "This man is disgusting me! I think he's doing that on purpose!" 

"Hm? Why?" 

"That was he vampire I already met. I'm actually surprised that he did not recognise me. At leat my scent." 

"You're perfumed, you wear make-up and your hairstyle is different. Maybe it's that?", Molly considered. 

"God, Molly, you know me. I'm not that sensitive! 

"A lot happened. A lot of bad things, a lot of unnerving things. It's going to get better." 

"I...want home and go to bed", I said tiredly. 


	7. Living After Midnight

"John? Are you really alright?", Lestrade asked. I finally was released from my forced holiday and was walking down the hallway as he noticed me.

"Yeah", I lied, "Probably just caught the flu."

I wasn't really alright. A vampire released a lot of toxins into the body if one was bitten. It's basicly harmless, Molly confirmed, unless I got bitten again in the next two weeks. But it took its toll on me because my body was treating the vampire's toxin like a cold. I felt pretty nauseaus most of the time, plus the migraine which was why I wasn't getting any sleep, and I noticeably looked paler than usual.

"If you say so, John."

I continued my way down the hallway. I was called by Inspector Hopkins to investigate on another case, because Lestrade still seemed to be a bit upset.

"Hopkins", I greeted him and lifted my hat a bit.

"Nice to see you, John", he greeted back. "This really is a strange case."

"What happened?", I asked and sat down next to him, opposite to his desk, "You said it was nothing too dangerous?"

"Yes. A woman came here last night and told me that she heard strange noises in her house and that there was no source for them. That's why she consulted us."

"That sounds a lot like a poltergeist, don't you think?", I said.

"It does, actually. Do you think we should give it a look?"

I nooded. "Whatever we can do to help."

On our way to the woman's place, I felt like we were being watched. It's probably just my fear of meeting Sherlock Holmes again but Hopkins seemed to have the same problem.

"John", he said hesitantly, "Do you think we're being watched?"

I took a quick look around. "So I'm not the only one?"

"Come, let's continue walking", Hopkins whispered and grabbed my sleeve and pulled me through the streets.

I felt bad for Hopkins. He was a sentimental person and rarely handled cases outside his office.

"Here we are", he then said relieved, after we stopped after a while. Before we entered the house, I saw something moving in the corner of my eye and turned around. I saw a kind of spectre moving behind a wall but didn't see anythign too suspicious.

"Oh, the gentlemen have arrived!", the woman said happily, "But you're a bit late! Your collegue was already here and got rid of my problem!"

"Collegue?", I asked and looked at the also confused Hopkins.

"Yes. A very nice man. Tall and dark haired", she explained.

"Baynes?", Hopkins asked and the only thing I could do was nod.

"I am truly sorry, if I caused you two any trouble for coming here", the woman apologised, "May I get you something? A cup of tea or coffee?"

"No, we're fine", I replied, "You should probably go to bed. It's still in the middle of the night."

On our way back to Scotland Yard, Hopkins started laughing hesitantly. "We came here for nothing then!"

"Don't you think it's wierd that Baynes arrived before us?"

Hopkins shrugged. "Less work for us especially if he did the job right."

I pouted and Hopkins suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"I need to go somewhere else. Don't wait for me, go back to Scotland Yard."

"Alright. Take care, Hopkins."

Our ways parted and I, again, got the feeling that someone was watching me. I tugged my coat nervously around me and started walking a little quicker. I only started to panic, as I noticed something moving around the corner of my eye but when I turned around, nothing was there. I kept speeding up my pace until I was running back to Scotland Yard. Gasping for air, I entered the building. Since when was I scared by darkness?

Luckily, nothing much happend that night but Hopkins didn't seem to return to Scotland Yard. After multiple inquieries, I found out that Hopkins had called Lestrade that night and told him, that he went home earlier because he didn't feel well. 

But all the calmness came to an end the very next night. 


	8. Undead

"What do you mean, ou have found another dead body?", Lestrade snarled at Anderson, who took the nightshifts for a couple weeks from now on.

"Just now, Sir", he apologised, "The body seems to be fresh, one hour old, The Bobbys found it."

"Fantastic", Lestrade whispered on our way to the crime scene and ran his fingers through his hair. "Another body and we haven't solved the other three cases."

I secretly hoped that I wouldn't find Hopkins lying there, but this was absurd. If Hopkins was really dead there would be much more panic at Scotland Yard. It was still not really dark outside, so not every poiliceman was carrying a lantern, as you could still discern enough without extra light.

After some investigations, Lestrade sighed at me. "The same symbols on this man's underarm."

"Maybe it's a code", Anderson said, "Some type of ancient vampiric language."

"Thanks, Anderson, you're not helping", I mumbled.

"We're just not moving forward", Lestrade said and stared at the dead body in front of us.

"Do the people at Barts do anything at all except cutting bodies open?", I muttered and buried my nose into my scarf. My pseudo-cold made me grumpier than usual.

"Don't be so mean, John", Lestrade said, "But we can as well check the Barts for more information."

Lestarde and I moved away from the scene as I became more nauseous.

"I'm going to go to the Barts. What are you planning on doing? Will you stay here to investigate with Anderson?", Lestrade asked.

I fixed my scarf and croaked: "I think I will patrol through London a bit. I can't handle a dead body right now.

"Should someone accompany you? What about Hopkins?", Lestrade and I looked around but we couldn't see him anywhere.

"Is probably in his office", I thought out loud.

"Baynes!", Lestrade shouted and a tall, dark-haired man in a grey coat approached us. "Please do accompany John. I won't let him go on his own."

 We walked through the twilight and I used my chance to ask Baynes something: "Did you take care of the poltergeist yesterday? You could've told us!"

Baynes stared at me with big eyes: "What poltergeist? I was at my office the whole night!"

I stared back at him. "You didn't take care of the case?"

"No, John", he confirmed.

I trot next to Baynes while pondering.

"But who would've solved the case then?", I grumbled.

"Say", Banyes then murttered, "Have you heard something from Hopkins?"

"Well", I said and rubbed my neck, "Lestrade said that Hopkins called last night but I haven't heard from him personally. Why do you ask?"

Baynes shook his head. "I just wondered. Forget it."

We stopped at a crossroad.

"I'll go left, you go right?", I asked Baynes, who looked at me with furrowed brows.

"John, I really should let you-"

"It's alright!", I intererupted him, "Please don't worry. I'll call for you if I get into trouble."

Baynes nodded silently and our ways parted. I went straightforward for a while, until I saw shadows moving in an ally. I carefully snuck around a corner and silently got my Lancaster ready. The person I noticed was standing above another, slurpling noises coming from him.

_An undead? A Ghoul?_

 I got closer and put my pistol to the man's head.

"Scotland Yard!", I shouted, "DSO!"

The Monster suddenly turned around and I amlost dropped my weapon. I was so startled, I could've been just thrown to the ground. The eyes staring at me were glowing red, but the face ... og the face was all to familliar.

"Hopkins?", I cried out after I found myself on the cold hard pavement. Blood was dripping from his mouth onto my face and I accidently pulled the trigger.

The Monster stopped his movement and I heard footsteps followed by another shot. The Monster let go of me, I got up and shot a second time. The monster clutched his chest, black blood oozing out of the wound, and then collapsed on the floor, the glowing in his eyes quickly fading.  
"Oh God", Bayned, who had also shot, said once he saw whom we have just killed.

With shaking hands, I dropped my weapon. "Oh God", I echoed Baynes.

"We ... we should tell Lestrade about this", he said absent minded.

I turned around as quickly as I could and left the alley to not puke on the spot. Baynes came running right after with my gun in his hand and we left again for Scotland Yard.

 

 

After we told Lestrade about what had happened, we stood in his office, quite baffled. And then, he let us two off the hook for the rest of the night. I, of course, went straight home.

Once I opened the door, I felt a strange kind of aura. I didn't know what it was but it surely didn't seem right. Carefully, to hear every sound, I went up the stairs and got my pistol ready. I quickly opened the door with a kick and got ready to shoot. I really had to restrain myself from shooting. Right before me, on a chair with an ear to ear grin, was sitting Sherlock Holmes and he was looking at me with his perfect grin.

"Good evening, John."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't shoot you here and now", I hissed at him and he got up from his seat.

"I could help you. Provide you with information", he said with a wry smile.

"How could you help me?"

"So you're not interested in how your dear collague died?"

"Hopkins, you mean? And how can I be sure that you're not behind this?"

"You don't know that", Sherlock said, shrugging his shoulders, "But you don't have a lead at the moment."

Sherlock swayed back to the chair. "I could tell who who it might be, but I'm not good at thinking with a gun to my head."

I clicked by tounge and put the gun down, but still held it ready in my holster.

"You look pale, John", Sherlock noticed with a smile, "Did something happen?"

"You know damn well what happened", I hissed.

"Yes I can. It's quite obvious from the black blood on your right sleeve."

"Do you spy after me?", I asked skepticly.

Sherlock lifted his hands as a defense. "You might have forgotten that I'm not human. I have my ways of getting information."

"Where's the catch, if you help me?"

"Information isn't cheap, I'm afraid", Sherlocks grin got wider as his fangs peeked out a little from his lips.

I took a few steps back and bumped into the wooden door behind me.

"No! No, forget it!", I shouted, "Never!"

Sherlock got up and straightened the fabric of his coat. "Then I will leave this case to you, John Watson."

I gritted my teeth, but I didn't move when Sherlock wanted to leave my flat.

"What is it?", he asked amused, "Do you want me to leave or not?"

On the one hand, I hated the man standing in front of me, on the other hand, I really needed the information.

"I want you to tell me everything you know", I said as quietly as possible, "and then we'll talk about the payment."

Sherlock Holmes laughed and took a step back. "Are you that easy to give in, Dr. Watson?"

"I don't do this for you, I do it for the well being of London!"

 

 

"I probably will tell you things you already know, Dr. Watson", he said after we both sat down at my table, I of course within safety distance.

"Go ahead, I want this done as soon as possible", I mumbled.

"The culprit is the same in every case so far. Except in Ms Owens case but that guy's dead.", Sherlock explained, "It's a vampire, no doubt. But I might express the thought that he might have accomplices."

"Where should we start to search?", I asked.

Sherlock put his hand together and his eyes ran around for a while. "I would say that the culprit comes from the East End but I'm not sure from where exactly. It's most likely a man, between 5'5 and 5'9 in height, regular weight, not older than 40 but no younger than 25."

"How do you know all this?", I asked. We were trying to solve this case for days and this man just solved it in 5 minutes.

"You could call it a special gift", Sherlock said and got up, "Now for your part of the deal."

My whole body stiffened. "You know what I think about this."

"I do", Sherlock giggled and moved closer, "That's why I enjoy it so much."

I wanted to get up, to flee, but Sherlock put his hand on my shoulder, demanding me to stay.

"Please sit down", he said and looked down upon me.

His face was so close, I could count every one of his dark eyelashes. Sherlock's face moved out of my vision and became a bunch of dark curls. I twitched, once I felt his cold lips on my neck and waited for the sharp pain when his fangs brake trough my skin. But there was no pain. Sherlock stood up and looked at me with this disgustingly mischievious smile of his.

"You owe me something, John Watson", and with those words he was gone.

 


	9. Dirty Little Secret

After I told Lestrade everything Sherlock told me, I sat down again on the chair. Thinking about this night, I touched my neck where the bite wound would've been. Frustrated with Sherlock, I got up and took my coat with me. The night was still young and I didn't want to waste any more thoughts on Sherlock Holmes. While wanderings the streets, I came across a young woman, who seemed lost. She was wearing a bright red dress and once she noticed me, she came running towards me.

"Thank god!", she said, lifting up her dress to better run, "Young man, can you help me?"

"Of course madame."

The woman then suddenly drew a piece of paper from her cleavage. "I have been invited to somewhere, but I just cannot find that place. Do you know where it is?"

I took a look at the piece of paper. "Well yes, I actually do know where this is! I coul escort you, if you'd like."

"What kind of event are you going to, if I may ask?", I asked on the way there.

"Oh, I don't know", the woman giggled, "A friend forced me to go with her."

"Is that so?", I asked, eyes open wide, "Then it must be destiny, that you found me of all people!"

"Yes, maybe", the woman silently laughed.

 

"Here it is", I said after we had reached our destination.

"Please come in for a moment", the woman said, "just until I have found my friend."

I agreed and went inside. Everything was decorated ecssesively and I definetly wasn't dressed appropriately fr this event. I followed the woman into the crowd fro a while, but then was grabbed and pulled out. I wanted to shout at the person and free myself, but after I saw his face, my heart stopped.

"Sherlock?", I hissed but he forced me to stay silent and pulled me further away from the crowd.

"What are you doing here?", I asked angrily after we entered a private room.

"I could ask you the same, John", Sherlock hissed back, "How did you find this place?"

We both looked outside for a moment.

"The woman in the red dress lead me here", I explained as I saw her in the crowd.

"The woman in the red dress?", Sherlock said confused, "That's Olivia Pansrow. A woman of high status. And a vampire."

We went back inside. "Excuse me?", I said.

"You heard me, John", Sherlock said with a bitter expression, "Every single guest here is a vampire. Except for you."

"Now what?", I asked, panic rising up.

"You'll stay here for a while", Sherlock said, "There is something that interests me about you."

"And that would be...?", I asked and fliched.

"What's so special about you?", he said slightly closing in, "Is there a secret you have I haven't figured out?"

I felt cold sweat running down my forehead and Sherlock obviously noticed.

"So there is a secret!"

Sherlock came closer and leaned down to me. "Let me tell you a secret, John", Sherlock said with a low, husky voice, "I'm certainly not the only vampire who found a liking to your blood. Blood of this kind of quality doesn't stay unknown for long, escpecially if that person is always running around at night."

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean?", I asked a bit angered.

"That means that you're quite lucky that you have encountered me and not someone else", Sherlock said and I felt his breath on my neck, "Someone else would've torn you to shreds already."

Sherlock then cupped my chin and foreced me to look into his pale eyes. "John Watson, don't you think it would be far better if both of us enjoyed this?"

I felt my heart skip a beat once I found myself unable to move.

"So, shall the game begin?", Sherlock said and got me out of my coat and then opened the buttons on my shirt, "We don't want this to get soiled, do we?"

"Please", I said, "Please stop."

"Shhh. We don't want anyone to hear us."

Then Sherlock opened the next button and all emotion dropped from his face.


	10. Stripped and Drained

I felt myself blush and Sherlock looked me in the eyes.

"That's...that's a joke, isn't it?", he stuttered horrified and looked at me with a crooked smile.

I looked to the floor, ashamed, and evaded Sherlock's gaze.  He took of his glove and ran his fingernail across the fabric to cut if off. The fabric fell to the ground and exposed my chest. Sherlock had to take a step back and if he weren't already pale as snow, all colour would've faded from his face.

"Av... a woman?!", he cried out in surprise.

I tried to cover my chest with my arms in shame. Sherlock on the other ahnd ruffled his hair in confusion with one hand and supported his body with the other ahdn he rested on a chair.

"This ... actually explains a lot", he then said, eyes darting around the room.  
  


I, meanwhile, buttoned up my shirt, halfway through, Sherlock grabbed my hand.

"This shouldn't stop our fun though", he said mischiviously, but I could still see the shock in his eyes.

I tried to free myself from his grasp, but suddenly the curtains of our little private room were pulled open and a few women and men entered quickly. I screamed and felt something hit the back of my head. I wanted to turn around to see my attacker, but then something hit me again, I fell to the ground after losing my balance completely. I saw shoes running around and a final, third blow brought me to complete unconciousness.

 

 

With a hammering migraine, I woke up. My eyes had problems adjusting to the darkness at first, plus my throbbing brain wasn't helping at all. After finally being able to see at least schemes of things around me, I tried to move. My body felt wierdly stiff. Moving was a very bad idea, my arms were fixed somewhere above me and every muscle seemed to be strained.

 

"Holmes, you damn...", I hissed while still trying to free myself.

Frustrated, I let the restraints be restraints and heard footsteps getting gradually louder. The hollow sound of heels on stone. A door was opened and and light came in, blinding me for a short time. Due to the light, I couldn't see the face of the person who had entered the room.

"You're awake!", I heard a voice say, a voice which I didn't recognise, "Good. Good. Then we'll start rigth away."

"Start?", I asked, "Start what?"

The person came closer and rattled beside me. I couldn't see what it was nor could I tell by the sound.

"Answer me!", I demanded and tried to move again.

"Don't exhaust yourself", the person laughed, "You'll make it harder on everyone otherwise."

I felt a sharp pain rushing through my body and pressed my teeth together, so not cry out in pain.

"Holmes dies have a good taste after all. Yes, indeed. Sadly that does not transfer to his taste of women", the person talked shop and looked at me from every angle. "But you really did dress up, didn't you Dr. Watson?"

"Why am I here?", I hissed.

"Why? Because you were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Holmes was a factor we didn't even consider."

 _Sherlock has nothing to do with this?!,_ I asked myself pretty surprised.

"Your blood is of an uniquely good quality, Dr. Watson. You cannot waste it like he would've done."

I wanted to answer, to ask something, anything but a wave of dizzyness came over me and I had to use all my strength to not just vomit on the floor.

After a while, the pain in my arms stopped and the person left the room without saying anything else.

"We'll meet again in a few hours", I heard him laugh before he closed the door.

 

The procedure was repeated five times in total. And everytime, I felt my mind slowly slipping away. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier and I became more and more aware that I couldn't escape anymore. The first two times I cried, screamed, kicked and tried to free myself but then I lost my strength until i just let them do whatever to me.

I couldn't tell how much time had passed. The room was always dark, I had completely lost my feeling of time. My heart grew heavy once I heard shoes on stone once again. But this time it as two pairs of shoes. The door opened and I saw two sillouettes enter. One taller and more masculine, the other shorter and more feminine, clearly in a dress.

"Is this her?", a woman's voice asked and a man's voice answered: "Yes, I am completely sure."

The man came closer and softly touched my arm. "Dr. Watson", he asked quietly, "Are you conscious?"

"Yes", I answerd with my voice cracking. I was so thirsty and my throat was dry.

I then felt a kind of pressure leaving my wrists and tumbled into the man's arms.

"Lemme go", I mumbled, while I was the one actually holding on to him.

"We will get you out of this place", the man explained as he caefully lead me to the door. The light, though dull, blinded my from my time in darkness and I had to squint for a long while.

"Where are we?", I asked my voice tired and slurring.

"We're currently in a vampires nest", the man explained, "They capture humans and harvest their blood to not go hunting every night."

"hm" was everything that left my mouth before I got caught by another case of severe dizzyness.

"Please try to stay conscious", he said to me, "As soon as we get out of here we will bring you to a doctor."

"Holmes ... What about Holmes?", I whipered.

"You mean the man that was seen with you that night?", the man asked and I nodded to confirm.

"We don't know. He just vanished after you got captured, we think", the woman now explained, "Who is he?"

"A ... a vampire", I said.

The man and the woman exchanged worries gazes.

"Did he feed from you?", the woman asked.

"One ... one time. Yes."

"Thank god", the woman said, "Do you know what happens when the same vampre feeds from you multiple times?"

"I ... I do."

"Where can we bring you?", the man asked, "Where do you live?"

I tried to look around but I couldn't tell where we were.

"Bring me to Scotland Yard", I said and the next thing I remembered was waking up in one of the infirmary.

From outside the door, I heard Lestrade's loud arguing. "What happened?", he shouted, "And who the hell are you two?!"

"Lestrade...", I whispered and tried to get up, but the room was spinning around me and I didn't want to puke all over the place, so I decided to stay still.

"My name is Daniel Goodwin", I heard the man's voice. "This is Emma Goodwin, my daughter. We saved this woman from a vampires' nest."

"That's a job for the DSO and not some random private persons!", the Inspector protested.

"Your DSO isn't doing a great job then!", Daniel said with a bitter tone in his voice, "We were lucky. If we had arrived just a couple of hours later, they would've sucked her dry."

"And what qualifies you two of doing this sort of thing?"

Daniel snorted: "We two were called and told to save Dr. Jeanette Watson."

"As Laymen?!"

"We, Inspector, are professionals. Professional hunters in fact", Emma said, "We get paid fairly well for our work and get to places the DSO would dream of!"

"I don't believe you two phonys! I will ask that woman about what happened!"

"That woman is your dear Dr. Watson", Daniel said, "Are you _that dense_ to not recognise her?"

"Oh, shut up!", Lestrade shouted, I never heard him getting this angry. "You two are highly suspicious and we'll keep you here until we know more aout that nest!"


	11. Shudder

"Lestrade these peoplesaved me!", I protested, "Please just look at me!"

Lestrade was about to open his mouth, but once he took a good long look at my face, I saw him freeze.

"No ... don't tell me ..."

I saw it in his eyes, the confusion, the anger and he had to take a seat in one of the chairs in the room.

“That is a joke, right?”, he asked, not daring another look at me.

“I wish, it wouldn’t have come to this”, I said under my breath and too tried to not make any eye contact with him.

I then heard Daniel break the silence with a cough. “Well, we would like to escort Dr. Watson home, if that would be alright.”

“We’re not done here!”, Lestrade snapped at him.

“I very well think we are”, Daniel responded, all kindness gone from his voice and gaze. “I would advise that it would be best if Dr. Watson would not strain her body too much after being drained by vampires.”

Lestrade took in a sharp inhale and looked at me with a strong look. “We are not done talking yet.”

Then, the inspector got up and left the room with a quick stride.

“Come”, Emma then said to me and extended her hand. “We better get going.”

I followed the hunters outside, they called a cab and brought me home safely. I invited them into my flat and before they left, Daniel left me a piece of advice.

“Dr. Watson, may I talk to you for a bit?”, he asked, as I took a deep sip of a cup of tea.

“Yes, of course”, I answered.

“We don’t think the vampires from the nest will come back for you, as we’ve taken well enough care of them. But we still would advise you to stay home for a couple of days.”

“Oh, I feel better already, I surely could use a nice walk or-“

“This is not about that”, Daniel said, and I saw something shift in his eyes I couldn’t place, “It’s about this Holmes fella you mentioned.”

I suddenly froze in fear and let Daniel continue.

“You are surely aware of this, but I will elaborate it for you: Once a vampire has tasted your blood, it will be easy for him to follow your scent if you wander around the city. You’re save enough in your home but be careful to whom you open your door.”

I gulped down a bit of my fear. “Just who are you two?”

Daniel took his hat from the counter and smiled at me. “Just like Emma said. We’re just hunters. Stay save, Dr. Watson, so we’ll hopefully never met again.”

And without another goodbye from me, they left the flat and me sitting there, the cooling cup in my hands.

But Daniel’s words have left a bad taste in my mouth. Sherlock wouldn’t be able to follow my scent through the city, but he knew where I lived and there was nothing I could do to keep him away. Plus, there was the whole situation with Lestrade. Now that he was aware of my true identity, I surely was going to be dismissed from my job.

With worry in my gut, I decided to go to bed. Sleep was rough, though and I woke up startled and paralyzed in the middle of the night, a shadowy figure looming above me.

“Keep quiet”, I heard that person shush me.

I suddenly was wide awake and sat up straight in my bed. “Leave!”, I shouted and clutched my blanked tighter. A cold hand was still holding my wrist.

“Not a deep sleeper, huh?”

“Let me go or-“

“Or what?”, Sherlock sneered at me, “You will rip my arm off?”

I bit my tongue unable to respond anything snarkier.

As I felt his weight shift onto my bed, I pressed my back into the wall beside me. “Please, don’t…”, I whimpered suddenly feeling more vulnerable than ever.

“Something is off”, Sherlock mused to himself while he was closing in to my neck.

I felt shivers down my spine as I felt his teeth slightly touch my skin.

“You haven’t been donating blood lately, have you?”, he chuckled.

I gulped carefully, afraid that it might cause him to bite me. “I was drained by vampires”, I managed to say, my words not more that an exhale of breath.

To my surprise, Sherlock suddenly backed away. In the dim light I saw a rim of blue eyes, as if they were illuminated like lightbulbs from the inside and the widely dilated pupils.

“They did _what_ to you?”, he asked almost panicked.

“They tied me up and took my blood”, I said, feeling a little safer without his mouth on my neck. I dared a look at him directly and saw slight confusion on his face. Then his expression changed to something akin to sick pleasure.

“That was my blood”, he growled, “I was the only one supposed to get a taste of you!”

He then suddenly grabbed my neck and pushed me up against the wall. His lips again ran across my neck, as to find the best spot to bite into. He was rougher than last time and I felt tears rise in my eyes.

“Please, don’t-“, I whimpered and I actually felt like he was considering.

I then felt his breath on my neck, as he whispered. “If I were to drink your blood now, I might kill you”, he sounded like was trying to explain this to himself rather than me, “and if I kill you, what good would your corpse be to me?”

He let go of me and moved himself away from my bed; I was gasping for air meanwhile.

“Don’t see this as an act of kindness”, Sherlock said bitterly, “I will come back for your blood, sooner or later.”

With the blink of an eye, the man was gone and I was left again, this time only shivering.


	12. Revenant Reverent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry that it has been so long since updating! I guess life and uni just get in the way!

I was more than relieved that Lestrade wasn’t going to dismiss me. But he reassured it more than necessary that it was only because my skills were of much worth to the DSO. After about a week, he put me back into duty and I was on another of my nightly patrols tonight.

I kind of felt relieving that I didn’t had to hide my identity anymore but nothing much had changed: I still behaved like I did before and wore the same clothes because it was just so much more convenient.

Closing in to the corner of a house, I heard something and was ready to draw my gun. Carefully, I approached the corned from where the sound came from and went around it. In shock, I let out a gasp.

“What are you doing here?”, I shouted at the tall, dark-haired man in front of me crouching on the floor.

Sherlock lifted his eyes, his expression severely hurt, pupils dilated wide and breath sounding heavy.

“This is your fault!”, he hissed at me, struggling to keep him self up, after rising to his feet.

“Make a step towards me and I will shoot you!”, I warned him, finger on the trigger of my gun now.

“It’s your fault, that I can’t drink any other blood anymore!”, he screamed at me.

“Excuse me?”, I barked back, a little confused, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sherlock leaned on the wall, heading towards me and I took a shot at him. He stopped and for a moment and clutched the wound with a labored groan.

“No other blood will quench my thirst anymore!”, his pressed through his teeth, “I should’ve drained you dry back then!”

I shook with fear as he came closer, the wound not seeming to stop him, so I took another shoot. And a third one. By then, Sherlock was standing right in front of me grabbing me by the shoulders with bloodied hands and pressing me into a wall again.

If I thought he was rough at me that last night I saw him, I was clearly wrong. I felt his fingernails dig into my shoulders, even through the fabric of my coat and shirt, his breath going quick and unsteady against my skin. Violently, he ripped open the collar of my shirt, buttons falling to the ground with a quiet rattle.

Without hesitation, he bit into my flesh and made me scream of pain. It wasn’t like to last time he drank from me, this time the pain didn’t fade, and I clearly felt the would pulsating with every gulp he took. I tried to force the lager man away by pushing but my arms felt wobbly and soon also did my legs. He was supporting me from sliding onto the floor with his arm wrapped around my waist.

Before I was afraid of losing consciousness, long after I gave up struggling, he released his fangs from my throat.

“Why”, he whispered against my neck before licking the wound clean and finally shut, “Why?”

I thought he would let go of me, let me drop to the floor for either Anderson or Hopkins, who were both on patrol duty tonight, to find me but he instead lifted me up.

 

The only thing I remember after that, was me waking up in an unfamiliar bedroom.

“Wha-?”, I breathed and closed my eyes once the room started spinning around me. I wasn’t yet ready to get up, so I tried to have a look around with only turning my head slightly.

My assumption that it was a bedroom proofed to be false. I found myself laying on some kind of sofa, considering the rough fabric underneath me. On my left side, I got a good look at the room I was in; it seemed to be a living room, not much different to my own.

I heard feet shuffling and a moment later, Sherlock appeared in my field of view, my heart going into overdrive of the realization of what had happened.

“You’re awake”, Sherlock said coldly, approaching me but keeping his distance.

My vision was still a little blurry and my eyes had trouble focusing, but I could tell that his expression didn’t reveal much emotion.

“You kidnapped me.” It wasn’t a question on my part, more like a statement, a realization.

The corners of Sherlock’s mouth curved slightly upwards. “More or less.”

A groan escaped my mouth as I tried to get up from my horizontal state and felt my head spinning even more.

“You shouldn’t stress your body too much”, Sherlock said, “You have lost a lot of blood.”

“I’m going home”, I exclaimed while trying to steady myself, “I will tell Lestrade about this and we will hunt you down for good.”

I tried to pass Sherlock to the door, I could see from the sofa, but he grabbed my arm tightly.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you", Sherlock lowered his voice to a husky growl and the way he said it, made the words sound like a threat.

“And why is that?”, I asked while trying to free my arm from his clutch.

He leaned down lightly to me and whispered: “You’re in no condition to walk the streets at night at the moment. Plus, I’m not going to let you leave this easily.”

Before I could realize, Sherlock sat me down on the sofa again and he himself took seat in an armchair in front of me.

“I’m afraid I’m going to keep you here until you run dry”, he then added a sly grin showing up for just a second.

I froze and held my breath before I spoke. “You said you were unable to drink any other blood”, I managed to remember while the thoughts in my head were racing wildly.

“Yes, indeed. I’m not yet sure to why this is, but I have a couple of ideas why this might be.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“You’re keeping a secret. Maybe even from yourself”, Sherlock continued, “What is it?”

“I have no clue what you are talking about”, I said steadily and truthfully.

Sherlock took a deep breath. “Has it ever occurred to you that the murderer you are looking for is targeting you?”

I inhaled air sharply. “What are you trying to imply?”

“Nothing really”, Sherlock answered defensively, “Just a hunch.”

“Why should someone target me anyway? There is nothing special about me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. There is more to you than just your blood.”

I took a confused look at Sherlock, unable to tell what he was trying to tell me.

He got up from his seat, pacing around the room while explaining to me. “There is something about you, I’m not able to make it out just yet. This may be the reason why other vampires started targeting you as well. Maybe there was an event in your childhood that you are trying to forget?”

I felt my heart skip a beat and the vampire in front of me seemed to notice, too.

“Am I right?”, he said over his shoulder, grinning.

“I … I’m not sure”, I said, trying not to let the events replay in my head again, “I don’t think it’s because of that…”

I haven’t noticed Sherlock coming towards me, but I only realized it once he grabbed my wrist.

“What is it?”, he asked, true curiosity in his eyes. “I tried to read it in your blood, but there seems to be some kind of spell protecting you.”

“A spell?”, I asked, cold sweat running town my back.

“Are you by any chance a descendant of wizards?”, Sherlock asked.

“No! At least, not that I would know of”, I said trying to recollect my memories, “But maybe…”

“Maybe what?”, Sherlock asked impatiently.

“Maybe it has to do with Blair Wakefield?”, I remembered his face. He was like a second father to me, but I didn’t know if he would’ve been able to put a magic barrier into my mind.

“The local reverent?”, Sherlock said, disgust on his face, “No wonder your clothes stink of incense, you’re there pretty often, am I right?”

“But I’m not sure if he’s able to perform such a complex exorcism”, I said, “Putting such a spell on someone requires lots of magical talent and-“

“Have you considered that your dear Reverent Wakefield is actually a Revenant?”

“Excuse me?”, I felt my voice a few octaves in shock.

“That man is not a man of the church”, Sherlock spit out the words, “He might have implanted false memories into your brain. The original Blair Wakefield is long gone.”

I again felt my body freeze in fear. “Is he also a vampire?”

“I don’t know”, Sherlock said pondering. “Not many of us night dwellers approach the church too much, there must be a way that he’s able to enter it anyways.”

I felt bile rise in my throat. “This is impossible. He is such a kind man!”

“Probably just a cover”, Sherlock said, “To lure unsuspecting people in.”

“I need to tell this Lestrade!”, I said again, trying to get up.

“You’re not leaving this place!”, Sherlock hissed at me, “Not until I can drink anything else than your blood!”

“That’s ridiculous!”, I screamed back, “You’re in no place to treat me like this!”

“Oh, am I?”, Sherlock growled into my ear. “You know what happens when a vampire drinks more than once from a single victim in a short period of time, right?”

I shuddered once I felt his lips on my neck again. This time I was ready for the pain, but it didn’t come. It was just another chuckle from Sherlock.

“I found a linking to the thought of having you as my servant. You look so much better in a dress and when you’re not thinking so much.”

I didn’t realize what I had done until Sherlock suddenly backed off and held his cheek. I only then noticed my right hand shaking and burning.

“But seeing you struggle and all feisty is also a bunch of fun”, Sherlock laughed manically as he left his flat.

I tried to follow him with unsteady legs, only to feel the doorknob burn as I touched it.

“A protective spell? Seriously?!”, I screamed helplessly and slid to the floor without any strength left.


	13. Blood Contract

In frustration, I let my head rest against the door behind me. The thought that Sherlock intended to turn me into his servant was still lingering in my brain. I closed my eyes and tried to recollect what I had learned about the vampire-servant relationship in the DSO training.

When a vampire bites a victim a couple of times, the amount will vary from person to person, in a short amount of time, a kind of contract is sealed between them. This does not happen if the blood is drained through other methods. After the contract has been established, the victim will feel a connection to the vampire and be more susceptible to mind-control by that specific vampire. The mind of the victim will degenerate over time and they will become a mindless shell of their former self, ready to do everything that their master wants. The contract can be broken if the vampire is killed or the victim themselves get turned into a vampire. Or, if the victim dies.

I gulped. I didn’t feel anything different towards Sherlock, so that must mean that there is yet no contract between us, which was good. I needed to get to Lestrade as fast as possible to lead the others of the DSO onto Sherlock’s trail, no matter if he was connected to the murders or not. I couldn’t risk another bite from Sherlock and in my current state I wasn’t even able to defend myself from him.

I sighed deeply, and my gaze feel to the window opposite to me. I heaved myself to my feet and looked outside. It was to high up to get out through the window, except if I wanted to risk some severely broken bones. Plus, even if I managed to get out, I had no clue where I was, I couldn’t get home or to the DSO that easily and was at risk to be found by some creature of the night if I was especially unlucky. At times like this, I cursed myself because I wasn’t as proficient at simple spells like Anderson but if I was lucky I could at least break the protective spell that was placed on the door to keep me in.

I took another look around. I needed salt, a cigarette, some soap and water. I noticed the kitchen further into the flat and inspected it thoroughly. I found a bar of soap and the tap water was still running. I found a bag of salt in a desk drawer and to my surprise a bit of tobacco ashes.

“A vampire, that smokes?”, I chuckled to myself.

I also found a cup and filled it with a bit of the water. I needed a candle for the spell, but I hoped that this still would be enough to undo the spell. I kneeled in front of the door and put the cup down and let the ashes fall into it.

“With these ashes I take you back and all that came besides.”

I placed the bar of soap inside the cup and continued: “Make this spell cleaner as I wash this spell off from you.”

“With this salt, take back the spell from where it came from”, I recited and sprinkled a little salt into the mixture.

I got up and spilled the soapy-salt-ash water on the doorknob. “With this, break the spell.”

I waited a couple of seconds and touched the door knob. No electric shock.

“Did … did it work?, I asked myself and twisted the golden thing in my hand. The door creaked but I suddenly was flung backwards. I stumbled, hit my head on the table and again sunk down to the floor.

“I leave you alone for a couple of minutes and you tried to break my spell?”, Sherlock shouted at me. His towering figure in the doorframe. “Seems like I haven’t broken your spirit well enough.”

He pulled me up by my shirt and pressed me down onto the table. I felt some of the things scattered on there press roughly into my back.

“Let me go!”, I wheezed and tried to loosen Sherlock’s hands from my neck. I felt the edges of my vision getting blurry.

Sherlock lowered his head and bit into my wrist which causes me to scream loudly in pain, but he didn’t drink my blood. Instead, he bit into his lower lip with one of his fangs.

“No!”, I screamed as he again lowered his head, “Don’t you dare!”

His lips touched mine once again, but this time it wasn’t a kiss. He just made sure that his blood had entered my mouth. I tried spitting the dark liquid out, but I already had the coppery taste on my tongue.

He let go of me and I slid to the floor, gasping for air.

“You bastard!”, I managed to wheeze at him, “How dare you?”

Sherlock grinned, no sign of his usual mischievousness lingering in his eyes. “It’s only fair if you need me as much as I do you, don’t you think?”

When did he stop referring to me as Dr. Watson anyways?

“You’re sick!”, I spit out, “The DSO is going to find and kill you for doing this to me!”

“Oh, and what do you think they will do to you?”, he asked back coldly. “Now that you’re on the verge of becoming a vampire’s servant?”

“The bond will be broken if you’re finally dead!”

“Yes, and do you know what happens if I’m dead? A servant will starve without his master’s blood!”

I lowered my voice in disgust. “Is that why you gave me your blood? So we don’t hunt you down?”

Sherlock chuckled lowly. “Exactly.”

Everything inside me felt like it was twisting, and I gasped for air.

“Now that your body is changing, you are dependent on me.”

My vision went blurry again and kept me from another snarky remark, so Sherlock continued: “Don’t worry, I will not turn you into my kind. I don’t need your hatred against me amplified by vampiric powers.”

“I’d rather die than be dependent on you!”, I hissed through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I will of course leave the choice to you”, Sherlock laughed.

“Is this what it’s about? Is this all a game for you?”

“The game has been afoot for a long time, I just enjoy watching it.”

Sherlock then continued to watch me squirm in pain for a while, not saying anything.

“Now, would it be fun to let you go, or should I just keep you here with me?”, he said through the fingers placed thoughtfully over his chin, the grin eerie and fangs still covered in blood. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me onto my feet; knees still wobbly.

He shoved me down the stairs and kicked my hurting body through the door like a dog.

“You annoy me”, Sherlock said, a disgusted look on his face, “Get lost before I decide otherwise.”

With that he slammed the door shut. I tired to get up, clothes bloody and dirty and started walking towards anywhere. I had no clue what part of London I was currently in, of course, if I indeed still was in London.

I wandered around the night for a while, not recognizing anything, until I heard a familiar voice.

“Jeanette is that you?”

I turned around in shock and saw Molly hurrying towards me.

I wanted to rather vanish into the ground than for her to see me in this condition. She slowed down once she got a better look at me.

“What on earth has happened to you?”, she asked examining my beaten-up face carefully.

I fell into her arms with no strength left.

“The hospital is not far from here, I was just on my way home”, she explained.

After a while I found myself laying on one of the beds in her examination room.

“Jeanette Holly Watson, care to explain where you have been and gotten all these injuries?”, Molly asked sternly, hands on her hips.

“That bloody vampire”, I said.

Molly’s eyes widened in concern. “What did he do to you?”

“He wants to make me his servant. He gave me his blood”, I explained.

“Does Lestrade know about this?”

I tried to shake my head carefully.

“Jeanette that’s a disastrous problem, are you aware of that?”, Molly tried not to scream at me. “If Lestrade finds out they will terminate you! In their eyes you’re no better than a vampire now!”

“I’m not yet turned”, I said, “I can still do my work.”

“Take a look at yourself, my dear. You obviously cannot.”

“What should I do then?”, I said frustrated, my hands covering my face.

“I don’t know”, Molly whispered.


End file.
